95 Saturn SL2 cooling fan

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Phenz

Copper - Posts: 48

Joined: June 02, 2004

Location: United States

Posted: July 24, 2006 at 12:58 PM / IP Logged

My 1995 Saturn SL2 four door is overheating. I just realized that the cooling fan is not coming on, and therefore not cooling down the engine. Is there any way to determine where the problem lies before I take it into a mechanic? I figure a sensor must be loose/damaged and therefore not providing power to the fan. Any help is appreciated. I am not sure if this is the right forum to post in, but figured its worth a shot. Thanks, Phenz

Chris Luongo

Platinum - Posts: 3,746

This member consistently provides reliable information

Joined: May 21, 2002

Location: Massachusetts, United States

Posted: July 24, 2006 at 4:46 PM / IP Logged

The fan system should consist of the following:

--The fan blade, with motor attached.

--The fan relay, under the hood somewhere.......the relay connects the fan to the battery when it is commanded to do so.

--Some sort of circuitry that decides when and why the fan relay should be activated.

This circuitry will not only monitor the temperature of the engine.....but generally it'll automatically turn on the fan whenever the air conditioner is on, whether the engine is hot or cold.

--The wiring between all of those components.

--A fuse or circuit breaker someplace.

It is somewhat common for fan relays to fail, and it is not unheard of for the fan motor itself to fail.

It is possible for the car's circuitry that controls the fan relay to have gone bad somehow, but that is probably less likely.

Regardless of all that, though, a good mechanic would never just throw parts at a problem in hopes of making it go away........one should always troubleshoot first.

If you have a test light or multimeter, and the ability to use it, you might be able to do some of this yourself.

--At the fan motor, is nothing more than two heavy wires plugged into it. One should test as ground all the time, and one should test as positive when the fan is supposed to be on.

You can test that the ground is good by making sure one wire always has a ground; it's probably the black wire on a GM car.

If you warm the engine up first, see if the other wire tests as positive.........if it is, the fan motor is probably dead........if it is not, the fan is probably good, but isn't being powered up for some reason.

--If you can figure out where the fan relay is, try tapping on it, and wiggling its wires around.

If your car has multiple underhood relays of the same type, try switching them around, to determine if it's the fan relay that's bad.

Phenz

Copper - Posts: 48

Joined: June 02, 2004

Location: United States

Posted: July 25, 2006 at 8:40 AM / IP Logged

Chris, thanks for the prompt and detailed reply.

When I got home last night, I got under the hood and started trying to troubleshoot the problem. Like you instructed, I also went straight to the relay and fuses. I checked them with a multimeter, and confirmed that the relays and fuses were all working correctly. I even did a direct connection at the relay (with a jumper wire) and the fan would still not turn on. I also ran the a/c and the fan would not come on. I tried disconnecting the electrical connection at the fan motor, but due to the placement location, I could not get the plug to come off. I was hoping to test the coneection at the plug to confirm that it was getting power (which I really think it is). And I also wanted to run a direct connection from the battery straight to the fan motor to see if it turned on. But I was not able to get the plug off.

I will have to try to disassemble the fan from the brackets holding it in place, but am not sure how easy it will be to do this. As much as I want to try and fix this, It seems I might have to get a mechanic to change the motor (if it is indeed the problem).

Funny thing, as I was trying to get the plug off at the motor, I got a bit frustrated and shook the whole fan assembly. I turned the car one last time to see if the fan would still not turn on, but it did. I ran it for a few minutes and the fan worked the whole time. I turned the car off and on again to see if the problem was fixed, and nothing. No fan.

Please let me know If you can offer any other suggestions or agree that it is probably the motor. I figure that maybe something within the motor is loose or damaged.

Chris Luongo

Platinum - Posts: 3,746

Joined: May 21, 2002

Location: Massachusetts, United States

Posted: July 25, 2006 at 1:05 PM / IP Logged

Okay, sounds like you're on the right track.

I haven't worked on your particular car, but I could understand where the fan motor, plug, and wiring could be hard to access.

I've noticed with old, ordinary window fans for houses, sometimes they don't start moving on their own, probably because the grease is old and stiff........but if you turn the fan on, and get it going by pushing it with a stick, it will stay on until next time.

Maybe you could either get the car hot again, or turn the AC on, or jump the relay with a wire.........then poke the fan with a stick and see if it gets going......if it does that, then you not only know where the problem lies, but you even have a temporary fix.

It might also be interesting, when the car is off, to move the fan around by hand or with a stick........get a feel for how stiff it is......and compare it with another car for reference.

Phenz

Copper - Posts: 48

Joined: June 02, 2004

Location: United States

Posted: July 25, 2006 at 9:17 PM / IP Logged

Chris, Thanks! I ordered the new motor, and my mechanic will try to replace it tomorrow.

I hope this car will last me a bit longer before I decide to junk it. It was a gift from one of my uncles, and has been pretty good to me the last couple of years, but lately its been one thing after another... battery needed to be replaced, a short in the power lock circuit, and now the cooling fan.

However, its given me the opportunity to learn how/where to begin troubleshhoting the problems and with all the help on this site, I know I'm in good hands.

Thx, Phenz

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95 Saturn SL2 cooling fan

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